USC athletes stand tall through Commonwealth Games

ELITE sport has many faces and they have all been on display by Coast athletes during the Commonwealth Games.

One face that stands out through the peaks and troughs is netballer Caitlin Bassett's after England's dramatic late win over Australia in the gold medal netball match.

Devastated and deflated, Caitlin still stood tall, allowing the fans watching on television around the country to see and hear her reaction to the defeat.

The easy option would have been to hide in the changing room.

She didn't.

Instead she credited England for the victory and said of the result: "It's not failure to us and it's not going to define us.”

Caitlin is part of the High Performance Student Athlete Program at USC, a team that returned home from the Gold Coast with five gold, three silver and four bronze medals.

It is an extraordinary return for a High Performance Sport Program in its second year.

Among the 36 Australian universities whose athletes attended the Games, USC placed third in the medal count behind the much bigger institutions of Griffith University and QUT.

USC High Performance student program coordinator Tania Stevenson said Caitlyn's mature, thoughtful comments at such an emotional time highlight the type of student-athletes the university is trying to produce.

"USC is not just focused on churning out medal winners,” Ms Stevenson said.

"We want to support and develop good people with enriched, balanced, forward-focused lives. People like Caitlin.”

Caitlin is one of 17 USC-based athletes who competed on the Gold Coast. They all live by a similar creed.

The focus and grace on the court of Lightning teammates Geva Mentor, Karla Pretorius and Stephanie Wood are also mirrored in their approach to life.

"They balance this with study, work and community work,” Ms Stevenson said.

"Their medal yield of two gold, two silver and four bronze - as well as two Games records, a world record and numerous PBs - is impressive.

"But it's not as impressive as the supportive team culture and integrity they display every day as they go about their business.”

Caloundra swimmer Tessa Wallace's third Games campaign was also a highlight.

The newest recruit to USC high performance sport, the ACA Ride Sunshine Coast cycling team, also places athlete welfare at the centre of their enterprise.

Co-founder Ben Kersten said it was extremely important to the squad.

"Over the years we've thought, 'What can we do better for the athlete and what would we do if we had our own team?',” Mr Kersten said.

"There is a range of challenges that the young athletes face. One of these is what they are going to do post athletic career.

"USC is the perfect fit for us.”

He said success for the ACA was having happy, healthy athletes who were supported to be the best versions of themselves - both on and off the bike.

These best versions were on show when ACA cyclists Leigh Howard, Kelland O'Brien and Sam Welsford broke the world record in the 4000m team pursuit on the opening night at the track. Welsford also went on to win the 15km scratch race with an explosive sprint to victory.

Ms Stevenson said student-athletes have been drawn to USC by the opportunities provided, not just in sport, but beyond it.